Gardening the Soul

"Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.

The dry seasons in life do not last.

The spring rains will come again."

-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

 

Spring is the season of renewal.  The clocks 'spring' forward granting us less darkness and more light in our days.  Spending more time in 'light' offers us the opportunity for new vision, a new perception, and new method of growing.  The minds of human beings are as fertile as the rich earth waiting for new sprouts.  It is a time to visualize what we would like to grow in our lives with our tender loving care.

The spring season is like a healing process.  We need to clear away old debris, allowing the sun to warm our soul, bringing back to life our passion and desires.  Once our focus is defined,  we protect these new seeds from inclimate weather and adventurous animals.  We must tend to our soul, supplying wisdom and courage for sufficient growth.  We must loosely till our ideas enabling sprouts to easily shoot up through the earth, reaching for the sun.  We must be brave as new stems will have to face the wind, the rain, and the storms.  If we remain faithful to our healing process, buds begin to appear.  These newly formed buds are tender and precious.  They must be given time to gently unfold in their own time.  These buds must not be prematurely exposed as self-doubt and criticism can chew their heart away.

The gardener of the soul must be patient and diligent.  A true caretaker of what is present and what is yet to come, he or she must be closely connected to the entire process, knowing exactly how and when to commune.  Through close observation, the gardener responds when there is too little rain or too much sun.  He or she realizes each seed has a unique growing period and in order to survive, attention is given to the natural flow of the entire process.

Spring rain cleanses during this early season, washing off the old and preparing for the new.  The extended hours of light allow work to be done on observations, charting, and care for the goal.  When darkness falls upon the garden, it is time for the gardener to self-nurture and restore. 

The gardener faces each morning without the sense of toil.  He or she simply anticipates the joy of tending to the soul.  With every given day, the gardener beckons spring to gently unfold.